


nothing can weather what we have together

by iseekdaylight



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 02:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10629897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iseekdaylight/pseuds/iseekdaylight
Summary: Johnny and Taeyong meet hours before a wedding they never want to have.





	

It’s past midnight, and Johnny finds himself tossing and turning on his bed. He squeezes his eyes shut and takes deep breaths, trying to focus on breathing and thinking of nothing. _Inhale, exhale_ , he tells himself repeatedly.

It fails, because he’s more hyper-aware of the ticking of the clock and the soft hum of the AC than he was a couple of hours ago. He gives up after what feels like an eternity. He sits up and leans against the headboard, running a hand through his hair and letting out a sigh. He squints at the wall clock across his bed. The faint light through his window made it clear enough for him to see that it’s already one in the morning. Fantastic.

He’s contemplating on calling the receptionist to ask if they have Ambien in stock when his cell phone beeps. Johnny reaches for his phone on the end table and sees Taeyong’s name in the caller ID. _“You awake?”_ the message reads.

Taeyong is usually asleep at this hour, so it’s strange for him to be awake. Johnny has a feeling they both can’t sleep for the same reason. _“Yup,”_ he texts back. _“Wanna meet up?”_

Taeyong’s reply comes in less than a minute. _“Meet you in the lobby. I’m on my way.”_

Johnny is quick on his feet. Too lazy to get changed into something more decent (heck, who dresses up decently at this time of the night?), he puts on his gray hoodie and rummages his cabinet for a pair of clean shorts. He opens his door carefully and tiptoes out. His parents are sleeping in the room next door, and the last thing he wants is to wake them up. He heaves a sigh of relief when he arrives in the elevator, pushing the button for the ground floor.

Taeyong is already sitting on one of the sofas in the lobby. He’s tinkering with his phone, his foot tapping on the thick carpets. Johnny calls his name, and Taeyong looks up, a small smile on his face.

“Where do you wanna go?” he asks as he approaches.

Taeyong stands up and shrugs. “Anywhere but here,” he says. “You take the lead—it’s your territory.”

They’re in the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. The city is alive even after midnight, though more tranquil than usual, and Johnny has a hundred places to think of where they will go. He settles with, “Let’s take a walk.”

Johnny takes the lead outside, and Taeyong follows by his side. He sighs in contentment at the gentle breeze brushing past his face before deciding which way they should go. His instinct tells him to go right, and go right he does. He’s been in the Ritz-Carlton one too many times—whenever his parents are entertaining some big-shot client—so he knows where his feet will take him.

He chuckles when Taeyong raises an eyebrow at him as they stop in front of a café; the sign outside tells them the café is open until five in the morning. “It’s one in the morning, we both can’t sleep, and you want to get coffee?” Taeyong says, in disbelief.

Coffee will always be Johnny’s go-to drink, whether he’s sleepy or not. Taeyong knows that, of course, so the question is rhetorical. Johnny merely grins as he holds the door open for Taeyong.

One order of cappuccino and iced tea later, and they take a seat outside. Johnny blows into his cup before taking a sip, the mix of coffee and milk instantly relaxing him.

He looks at Taeyong, who is looking at him intently. Instantly, Johnny senses the elephant in the room. It had been there for the past month, and with the hours ticking away, he knows they should talk about it.

It’s Taeyong who speaks first. “This is the most boring bachelor party I’ve ever been to,” he says.

Johnny laughs at that. “Would you like to change that?” he asks, smirking. “We go to the bar, get wasted, pay some hookers for the night?”

Taeyong scrunches his nose. “No thanks,” he says in a low voice as he sips his iced tea. “Knowing us, what we both want is something as boring as this—late-night trips to cafés and some talk on philosophical bullshit.”

“My type of boring.” Johnny holds out his cup, and Taeyong clinks his glass with it. “You ready for later?”

Taeyong snorts. “You’ll probably ask me that question after the wedding, and I’ll still answer ‘Nope.’”

Johnny chuckles, though it’s now bordering on resigned than anything.

“How about you?” Taeyong asks, setting down his cup. His gaze is unwavering, and Johnny can’t resist looking down because of how intense it is. “I bet you’re probably ready for later.”

“I’m not ready either,” Johnny says. “We both don’t want this to happen.”

“I know.”

Johnny had never expected that arranged marriages would still be common in this day and age, even in his family’s circle. Although they are one of the richest families in the country, his parents are more open to straying beyond tradition. Johnny had inside information about the goings-on of the family business, but his parents haven’t pressured him to fully take over; it will come when he is ready, or his future children will take over if he doesn’t want to. The same went with Taeyong’s family. This was perhaps why their families have been friends for as long as they can remember.

Which was why they were surprised when their parents gathered them one month ago and announced they were to marry. Something about a merger between the family companies, and there was some bullshit about progress and putting the newly merged company in a better light. Whatever the reason, they can’t accept it. Marriage is supposed to be a choice; and besides, at twenty-three, marriage is the last thing on their minds.

Unfortunately, they have no other choice. So here they are, in freaking Chicago, about to get married to each other in less than ten hours.

“Is there any chance that Sehun is going to sweep you off your feet and you’re gonna elope, thus saving us from impending doom?” Taeyong asks, chuckling at his own scenario.

Johnny chokes on his coffee in reply. “Sehun and I broke up, like, a year ago,” he says.

“Too bad. I always thought you were for forever.”

Johnny and Sehun started going out in their first year of college, and everyone thought they were meant for each other. They had broken up five years later with the reasons of trying to find themselves after graduation, and it seems that Sehun had found himself … in the arms of someone else. For some reason, it didn’t hurt than much. Then again, Taeyong was ready with some booze and a newly renewed Netflix subscription, so he guessed he owed his best friend one.

Johnny had fallen in love with Sehun during their early months of dating. At that time, Johnny was in love with someone else, and had said yes to being serious with Sehun only because he thought he didn’t stand a chance …

“How about you?” Johnny counters. “Isn’t Jaehyun going to be your knight in shining armor?”

Taeyong makes an indignant sound. “He’s dating Doyoung now.”

Johnny straightens in his seat. He feels a rush of energy, and he knows it isn’t from the coffee. “Kim Doyoung?” he clarifies, eyes wide. “Didn’t you three used to be close in college or something?”

“We were.” Taeyong sounds nostalgic. “Doyoung was very supportive of us when Jaehyun and I dated, and now …” He shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for them. It’s just … weird?” He sighs. “I’m over Jaehyun, though. It’s been two years, after all.”

“Have you ever thought of him as … the one?” Johnny asks before he could stop himself. It’s not the coffee talking. Maybe because they’re about to get married to each other, and Johnny had wondered if he had ever thought of marrying Sehun before. He can’t even remember if he did, so he’s assuming he didn’t.

Not that he’s a hopeless romantic. He may have a career as a classical pianist, and that his emotions push him to hone his art, but he’s a firm believer that the head should always triumph the heart. Not that he always follows that rule, but it has helped him manage expectations and be realistic about whatever circumstances follow his way.

Taeyong is the hopeless romantic between the two of them. He grew up crying over Disney and Ghibli movies. He falls hard and fast, and Johnny was always there whenever he cried about the first break-up, the first unrequited confession, the break-up with Jaehyun (his longest relationship ever). If anyone had at least a bit of thought about marriage, it’s most likely Taeyong.

“I did,” Taeyong says, sipping his drink. “Everyone told us how perfect we were, and I was stuck in this large bubble, thinking that this was for forever. Only …” He tucks his chin on his hand, his elbow resting on the table. “We thought this was perfect, and then it wasn’t. So, when all these illusions, all those expectations didn’t meet reality, we put an end to it.”

“Relationships aren’t supposed to be perfect, even non-romantic ones,” Johnny points out. He and Taeyong had their fair share of arguments, and almost-fall outs in the past, but somehow, they always end up resolving their differences. Johnny sometimes hates it when Taeyong nags him about the mess in his apartment (it’s Johnny’s apartment after all), and Taeyong would roll his eyes whenever Johnny would crack the corniest comments known to mankind, but they can’t imagine a life without each other.

“I know,” Taeyong says, his gaze on whatever’s left of his drink. “It was fun while it lasted. Only, I couldn’t find anything else like what Jaehyun and I had.”

“I’m supposed to be the comforting best friend who’ll tell you there’s someone else out there, but I realized that’s me,” Johnny says, and again before he can stop himself. “Not that we both wanted this.”

“You’ve always been there for me, I’ll give you that,” Taeyong says, a small smile creeping to his lips. “Even at my worst.”

“You, too.” A thought comes to Johnny’s mind, a thought that had always haunted him even before Sehun came into the picture. He decides it’s now or never. He takes a deep breath. “Have you ever thought of … us?” When Taeyong blinks at him, he feels the warmth spreading to his face. “You know … the two of us … _together_?”

“What do you mean, together? We’ve always been attached at the hip since … _Oh_.” Color rises to Taeyong’s face as well as realization hits him. “Oh.”

“I’m gonna need an elaboration of that answer.” Johnny chuckles, if only to break the tension that suddenly surrounded them.

“Um …” Taeyong starts fumbling with his hands, not meeting his gaze. “A lot of people have asked me that …”

“And what do you tell them?”

“That it’s weird? That I’ve known you even before I could remember knowing you, and going beyond friendship is … weird.” Taeyong chuckles nervously. “I’m sorry. That’s the best I could come up with.”

“Yeah, I’ll take it.” Johnny nods. Knowing Taeyong, that’s his most honest answer. Taeyong is always sincere about everything, and Johnny appreciates that. He wishes he can be as open as his best friend when it comes to several matters.

A pause later, and Johnny notices the way Taeyong’s eyes flicker. “How about you?” he asks. “Have you ever thought of us … _together_?”

Another deep breath as his heartbeat stops for a millisecond. A good friend, Ten, had asked him that question before. He had the same answer as Taeyong’s back then, but a month into their summer break, with Taeyong falling asleep on his shoulder as they waited for the sun to rise, Johnny had realized his true feelings.

The only catch that time was, Taeyong was dating Jaehyun, and the two had gotten serious. Since then, Johnny had tried quashing down his feelings, had said yes to being serious with Sehun, and had gazed at Taeyong from the sidelines. He had resigned himself to being the best friend, nothing more.

Then, Taeyong and Jaehyun had broken up. Johnny wasted no time being there for Taeyong, cheering him up, assuring him that there’ll be someone else for him. Sehun must have realized Johnny’s true feelings, because he called him one day and said they should cool off and find themselves.

And now, here they are, getting married to each other in a few hours. It’s his chance to be honest about his feelings. Marriage is going to change them, for sure, whether the romantic feelings are mutual or not. He has to know how they’re going to get through this unscathed.

He must have been thinking for a long time, because Taeyong’s eyes widen. “You’ve thought about it … haven’t you?”

Johnny gulps, his heart pumping furiously against his chest. Here goes nothing. “I have,” he says, his voice trembling. “I’ve thought about it a long time ago. And two years ago.”

He watches Taeyong lean against his chair, as if bracing for the worst. “And …?” he asks.

Johnny feels his mouth dry up. He hopes Taeyong doesn’t hear how much his heart is beating fast that it’s almost ready to jump out of his chest. “I …” he begins. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like for the two of us to be more than friends. And … I want to know what it’s like. I’ve kept this for a long time because you started dating Jaehyun. When you two broke up, the feelings came back naturally. As if …” Another deep breath. “As if it’s natural for me to be in love with you all along.”

There, he said it. Johnny’s chest feels light, as if a huge weight had been lifted off. That’s one huge weight, one he had carried for seven years, or maybe more. But his heart is still beating quickly as he looks at Taeyong, whose eyes are still wide, as if trying to process this information. Johnny figures this isn’t easy to take in, given the circumstances.

“Say something,” he says, after what feels like an eternity. The silence is becoming thick, and all Johnny wants to know is what Taeyong is feeling at the moment.

Taeyong runs one hand through his hair, and another hand on his mouth. Johnny fumbles with his own hands as he waits, waits, waits …

He doesn’t expect Taeyong to stand up. “I have to …” he begins, then trails off, not meeting Johnny’s eyes as he walks away.

“Taeyong, wait!” Johnny is quick to get up, almost knocking down the table, and their cups and glasses. He’s quick on his feet as he runs after Taeyong, whose pace is quick. “Where are you going?” When Taeyong doesn’t reply, he shouts, “Taeyong!” a little too loudly, startling the few people they pass by.

God knows how long he had been chasing and calling after Taeyong until he sees the familiar bean-shaped structure at the middle of the plaza. He finally catches up to Taeyong, and Johnny places a hand on his shoulder, spinning the younger one around until they’re face to face. “Where are you going?” he demands. “You don’t even know your way around this place.”

“Did you want this to happen?” Taeyong is gritting his teeth, and his body is tense. Johnny withdraws his hands and takes a step back. Taeyong is scary when he’s angry, but he should brace himself for it.

“What do you mean?” he asks, as calmly as possible.

_“This!”_ Taeyong raises his voice loudly, but thankfully, no one was around. His arms gesture towards Johnny, then to himself. “When our parents told us we were getting married, I didn’t want this to happen! We’re best friends, goddamit! Do you think I wanted to be married to my _best friend_?”

“Look, if you thought I wanted to get married to you just because I have feelings for you—”

“And then you drop this bomb hours before the wedding!” Taeyong interrupts him, hands on his head as he looks at anywhere but Johnny. “God … this isn’t helping at all …”

“I’m sorry.” Johnny is tall, but he feels himself shrinking at this situation. “I’ve wanted to tell you, but I was too scared. I wanted to be honest about my feelings now, before this changes us.”

“Oh, this will change us, alright.” There’s a bite in Taeyong’s words, and Johnny tries hard not to flinch.

Johnny bites his bottom lip. “At least hear me out,” he says weakly.

Taeyong frowns, but he puts his hands down. “I’m listening.”

“I’m not expecting you to love me back. Heck, I’m not expecting you with an answer right away,” Johnny continues. “I wish I could have told you a long time, but there’s no time for regrets. All I want is to be honest with you from this point on, because we’ve been in weird situations before, but this is the weirdest. And I want us to get through this with minimal awkward moments or you lunging for my neck or whatever.”

Taeyong sighs and shakes his head. “For the record, I’m not mad at you,” he says. “Not as mad as I was minutes ago, anyway.”

Johnny relaxes.

“I can’t give you an answer,” Taeyong says. “I was having the time of my life being single after the break-up, and I have never entertained the thought of dating you.” He looks down at his shoes. “Until now, anyway.”

Somehow, he feels a faint glimmer of hope. Johnny is brave enough to add, “Would it be weird to ask you out on some fancy dinner on Friday, then?”

“Makes it easier to ask me out on a date since we’ll be married by then, huh?” Taeyong counters with a chuckle.

Johnny rolls his eyes in reply, ignoring the warmth in his cheeks.

Taeyong lets out a breath and shrugs. “Fine. Let’s do it,” he says, a small smile on his face. “I don’t know how different this will be compared to our usual nights out, but let’s try.”

Johnny does his best not to jump for joy, although his insides are already doing a good job at it. His shoulders do sag, and he grins widely. “Okay,” he manages. “Okay. Great. Thanks … for doing this.”

“Don’t get too excited, lover boy.” Taeyong snorts, elbowing Johnny on the arm as he walks past. “We may be married by Friday, but you still have to do your best to sweep me off my feet.”

“Got it. I’ll do my best.” Johnny can’t wipe the grin off his face as he follows Taeyong’s lead. His arm hurts, but he can’t bring himself to care.

It’s three in the morning, and they’re getting married in less than nine hours. It’s a civil ceremony, sure, but Johnny dreads getting into that suit and heading to the city hall, surrounded by immediate family. It’s going to be awkward facing Taeyong before they sign the marriage certificate, a document they want nothing of until they’re in their late twenties and probably more ready about marriage than now. And then, there’ll be celebrations of their union, moving in _their_ apartment, and their parents are in talks of arranging for them a honeymoon in Europe—

Johnny bumps into Taeyong when the younger one freezes on his tracks. Taeyong spins around until they’re face to face. Their chests are bumping, and Johnny feels self-conscious of his rapid heartbeat. Taeyong is looking at him with the same determination Johnny recalls him having whenever he’s executing a complicated dance move. “W-What?” he stutters.

“Later …” Taeyong begins. He’s biting his bottom lip, and Johnny is getting distracted. “They’re going to make us kiss, aren’t they?”

It’s a civil wedding, but this won’t probably stop the judge from encouraging newlywed couples to kiss in front of witnesses. The thought makes him queasy, even though …

“Have you …” Taeyong pauses, shuffling his feet. He lets out a breath and turns back to walk away. “Never mind.”

“Never mind, what?” Johnny grabs Taeyong’s arm just in time to pull him back to their previous position—chest to chest, only their faces are awfully close. He relaxes his grip on Taeyong when the younger one’s eyes widen, but the latter doesn’t pull away. Johnny sort of gets the hint, and his breath hitches. “Do you want to?” he asks.

There’s a faint blush on Taeyong’s cheeks. The faint glimmer of hope is back, warming up Johnny’s chest. “Y-You tell me,” he stammers, his voice trembling. “You’ve probably thought of this, and I’m just curious, and we might as well get this over with before the judge bothers us later, and—”

Johnny chuckles, his other hand steadying on Taeyong’s arm. He draws lazy circles on Taeyong’s arm with his thumb, and he loves how he feels Taeyong shiver to his touch. He leans closer, their lips inches away from each other. “You can pull away if you’re not comfortable, alright?” he says.

Taeyong nods and closes his eyes as Johnny closes the distance between them.

It’s a gentle press of lips against lips, nothing more. This scenario has been in Johnny’s wildest dreams, and he had imagined it in more ideal scenarios, but this feels right. This feels natural, like it was meant to happen all along. Johnny thinks he can melt right then and there, and he grips Taeyong’s arms tightly to prevent his needs from caving.

He pulls away after what feels like an eternity. He opens his eyes and sees Taeyong’s eyes glossy, blinking rapidly as he tries to process what had just happened. Johnny feels heat rush to his face again. “Was it … weird?” he asks.

Taeyong puts a hand to his lips, and Johnny relaxes when he sees a smile form. “It’s not as … weird as I thought it would be,” he says. “It’s weird … in a good way.”

“Oh,” Johnny says dumbly, and he feels his cheeks starting to hurt. “Okay. Does that mean …?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. It just means I’m leaning towards being interested.” Taeyong chuckles, hands on his pants pocket. “At least we’re ready for later … sort of.”

“Right.” Johnny thinks he should stop grinning, but he can’t find himself to do so.

“We should … get back,” he announces. He almost stumbles backward, and he laughs nervously at Johnny before looking away.

“Back to the cold, harsh reality we go,” Johnny says, leading the way. The coffee is still kicking in, so he probably won’t be able to sleep. That, and he can still feel Taeyong’s lips on his. “We’ll get through this, right?”

“We will,” Taeyong says. “You owe me dinner after this, Johnny.”

Johnny is still grinning as he nods. Taeyong told him not to get his hopes up, but at least he knows there’s a chance. There’s still time to try.

He may be getting married later, but it’s Friday dinner that he’s looking forward to the most.

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> \- I honestly wanted this a lot longer and a lot more complicated, but time is against me. I hope OP likes this, though!  
> \- The title is taken from the song _Home_ by The Sweeplings.  
>  \- Many thanks to @chittaphoned for, well, beta-ing this, even if this OTP has not yet grown on her.


End file.
